Housing for a cosmetic product, comprising a lid, a base and a hinge

ABSTRACT

A housing for cosmetic product(s), including at least one base to receive a cosmetic product and a mirror-bearing lid which is articulated with respect to the base by means of a hinge. A spacer plate connected to the base and including at least one through-opening passing through the thickness thereof so as to form a compartment directly surrounding the cosmetic product. The hinge includes a first upper pivot that is as one with the mirror-bearing lid, a pivot pin for the hinge, and a second lower pivot that is connected to the spacer plate so as to form the hinge. The pivots and the pivot pin are removably connectable to each other such that the mirror-bearing lid can be detached from the base and repositioned thereon as desired.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a housing for a cosmetic product(s) in the form of a pallet including at least one mirror-bearing lid, a base and a hinge. It applies in particular, but in a non-limiting manner, to makeup of the eyeshadow/shadow, gloss, balm, blush, foundation or face powder type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many types of receptacles for a cosmetic product(s), in particular for containing and transporting makeup. In the more specific field of containers of the “pocket housing” type including a base, a mirror-bearing lid which is articulated on the base, and a hinge, the user generally wears makeup either in front of the mirror of the housing, or in front of an additional mirror.

However, very often, in the first case of use mentioned above, the mirror of the housing is either too small, or poorly adapted because the housing must be held with one hand, at an ideal distance from the face, to look at oneself in the mirror and use the other hand to use the makeup tool with the cosmetic products. It requires skill and multiple changes of hand, face or housing position. It is possible to place the open housing on a support (table, bathroom plan, etc.) to avoid holding it, but the height of said support is not always adapted and the makeup tool still have to be used to apply the cosmetic products, which requires holding the housing with one hand, the makeup tool with the other, and therefore potentially changing the position and the inclination of the mirror with respect to the face.

In both cases, the use is impractical, with the risk of dropping the housing, messing up one's makeup or wasting time.

Consequently, there is currently no solution to this problem of having a portable housing while being able to be easily placed in front of a mirror to apply makeup. It is therefore necessary to design a housing with a spacer plate which takes account of these constraints.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims at overcoming these disadvantages with a totally innovative approach and a solution that is simple to manufacture, practical to use and takes up little space.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a housing for a cosmetic product(s) in the form of pallet(s) which may, for example, contain a solid, waxy or pasty formula, including at least:

-   -   a base including a bottom and side walls delimiting at least one         casing receiving a pallet of cosmetic product,     -   a mirror-bearing lid which is articulated with respect to the         base by means of a hinge around a pivot pin to take at least a         first open position for access to the pallet of cosmetic product         and a second engagement position with the base to close said         housing,     -   a spacer plate connected to the base and including at least one         through-opening passing through the thickness thereof so as to         form a compartment directly surrounding the pallet of cosmetic         product in order to maintain the latter between said plate and         the bottom of the base,

characterized in that said hinge includes a first upper pivot that is as one with the mirror-bearing lid, a pivot pin for the hinge, and a second lower pivot that is connected to the spacer plate so as to form the hinge, said pivots being respectively provided with means for removable connection with one another in such a way that the mirror-bearing lid can be detached from the base and can be repositioned thereon as desired.

The invention is implemented according to the embodiments and variants set out below, which are to be considered individually or according to any technically effective combination.

According to a complementary aspect, the second lower pivot of the hinge is integral with the spacer plate.

In a variant embodiment, the second lower pivot of the hinge is completely independent of the spacer plate and can be detached therefrom. Advantageously, the pivot pin for the hinge is formed by a curved portion of the first upper pivot.

According to a variant embodiment, the pivot pin for the hinge is formed by an intermediate rotation rod received in said second lower pivot.

Preferably, the intermediate rotation rod is integral with the first upper pivot of the hinge.

According to a variant embodiment, the intermediate rotation rod is completely independent of the first upper pivot of the hinge.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the means for removable connection between the intermediate rotation rod and the second lower pivot of the hinge are constituted by protrusions cooperating with two recesses.

Preferably, the second lower pivot of the hinge includes a transverse flat main blade extending parallel to the pivot pin, said blade being provided with two internal lateral tabs erected normally and internally carrying said protrusions, which face each other to receive the end recesses of the intermediate rotation rod or the ends of the curved portion of the first pivot.

According to a specific embodiment, the main transverse blade of the second lower pivot of the hinge also includes two external lateral tabs for its connection with the spacer plate, said external lateral tabs being erected parallel to the internal lateral tabs and forming therewith two pairs of “U” disposed respectively at each of the opposite longitudinal ends of the main blade.

Preferably, the spacer plate includes a rear strip provided with third parallel tabs provided with recesses cooperating with protrusions projecting outwardly from the second lateral tabs of the second lower pivot of the hinge. According to a particularly advantageous feature, the main transverse blade of the second lower pivot of the hinge includes an elastically deformable curved secondary strip permanently bearing on the first upper pivot of the hinge to form a brake on the articulation of the lid on the base and maintain its angular position.

Preferably, the spacer plate is articulated on the base by means of the second lower pivot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other advantages, purposes and features of the present invention emerge from the description which follows given, for an explicative and a non-limiting purpose, with regard to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a housing in accordance with the present invention in a closed position,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but wherein the housing is in an open position,

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the housing of FIGS. 1 and 2 ,

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the housing of FIGS. 1 and 2 ,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing elements belonging to the hinge of the housing of FIGS. 1 to 4 ,

FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view of a first pivot of the hinge,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a second pivot of the hinge,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an enlarged detail of a removable attachment means of the hinge,

FIG. 9 is another enlarged perspective detail view of the second pivot of the hinge and a portion of the housing,

FIG. 10 is another enlarged perspective detail view of the second pivot of the hinge,

FIG. 11 is a perspective detail view of a third element of the hinge,

FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of an alternative embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 , and

FIG. 13 is a detail view of FIG. 12 .

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 11 show a first embodiment of a housing 1 for cosmetic products, for example of the pebble type, in accordance with the present invention, FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrating a considered variant.

This housing 1 is mainly or even entirely made of recyclable metal, for example aluminum, and has the shape of a (square or rectangular) parallelepiped, of dimensions adapted to be able to be held in one hand, with a total thickness of a few millimeters to about 1 centimeter. This housing 1 can contain and transport cosmetic products (not shown) such as, but in a non-limiting manner, eye shadow, foundation powder or lip gloss.

In accordance with FIGS. 1 to 3 , this housing 1 typically includes a lid 10 articulated on a base 20 by means of a rear hinge 40, and contains an internal spacer plate 30. A push button 50, disposed on the front face of the housing 1, allows, on the one hand, to open the lid 10 and, on the other hand, to detach/separate, at least locally, the spacer plate 30 from the base 20.

In more detail, as can be seen in FIG. 3 , the lid 10 includes a peripheral belt 11 on which is mounted a bottom 12 (for example bearing an external decorative logo), said peripheral belt 11 surrounding a mirror 13 sandwiched between said bottom 12 and a lid insert 14. These four parts are preferably joined together without the use of glue (for example by clips). This allows in particular to recycle the portions that can be recycled (mirror on one side, lid on the other, whether it is made of metal or plastic)

The base 20 includes on its side a bottom 21 surrounded by a peripheral wall 22 erected normally to said bottom 21 and having a rear notch 24 whose usefulness will be described later.

The spacer plate 30 in turn includes an upper belt 31 mounted above a lower insert 32, the cosmetic product (not shown) being placed in an opening 34 of the lower insert 32 and sandwiched between the bottom 21 of the base 20 and an opening 33 of the upper belt 31 whose dimensions (diameter in this case) are smaller than those of the opening 34 of the lower insert 32.

The lid 10 is pivotally mounted with respect to the base 20 by means of a rear hinge 40 including in particular a first upper pivot 41 that is as one, in this case, with the peripheral belt 11, an intermediate rotation rod 42 pivotally mounted inside the first pivot 41 and extending longitudinally therein, and a second detachable pivot 43 adapted to be mounted in rear notches 35 and 24 provided respectively on the lower insert 32 of the spacer plate 30 and on the peripheral wall 22 of the bottom.

More specifically, in accordance with the present invention and as shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 to 11 , the first pivot 41, formed in this case integrally with the peripheral belt 11 of the lid 10, includes a prominent blade 41 a normal to said frame and extending by a curved portion 41 a forming almost a complete turn or an almost closed “C” shape (see in particular FIGS. 8 ).

The second pivot 43 of the hinge 40 in turn includes (FIGS. 6, 7 and especially 10 and 11) a transverse flat main blade 43 e extending parallel to the intermediate rotation rod 42 and carrying at its lateral ends a first pair of internal tabs 43 a forming a first widened “U”, said first internal tabs 43 a being respectively provided with inwardly prominent spikes 43 b, and a second pair of external tabs 43 c parallel to the first pair of internal tabs 43 a and forming a second widened “U” surrounding the first widened “U”, said second external tabs 43 c being respectively provided with outwardly prominent spikes 43 d. These spikes 43 b and 43 d take, for example, the shape of a half-sphere on the outside.

It will be noted that two tabs 43 a and 43 c of two respective pairs together form a smaller “U”. The transverse flat main blade 43 e is in turn extended at a central area, between the pairs of internal tabs 43 a, by an elastically deformable curved secondary strip 43 f.

The intermediate rotation rod 42 shown in detail in FIG. 11 includes a cylindrical main body 42 a and two end recesses 42 b, for example of hemispherical shape.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 , when the lid 10 is mounted on the base 20, the intermediate rotation rod 42 of the hinge 40 is removably mounted in the second pivot 43. More specifically, the body 42 a of the intermediate rotation rod 42 extends between the first pair of internal tabs 43 so that the prominent spikes 43 b penetrate into the end recesses 42 b.

Moreover, the second pivot 43 is also removably mounted on the upper belt 31 of the spacer plate 30. More specifically, as can be seen in FIGS. 8 to 10 , the outwardly prominent spikes 43 d of the second pairs of tabs 43 c of the second pivot 43 penetrate into orifices 31 d provided on a third pair of parallel tabs 31 c that is as one with the upper belt 31. Indeed, the upper belt 31 has, in a central rear area, a curved strip 31 e, substantially parallel to the transverse flat main blade 43 rd of the second pivot 43, extending by a wall 31 f erected perpendicularly and carrying at its lateral ends said third pair of tabs 31 c, which form a widened “U” surrounding the second widened “U” formed by the second pair of tabs 43 c.

When all the parts of the housing 1 are assembled and interconnected, the intermediate rotation rod 42 passes through the curved portion 41 b of the first pivot that is as one with the peripheral belt 11 of the lid 10 and forms a pivot pin for the hinge 40.

This intermediate rotation rod 42 and the peripheral belt 11 of the lid 10 are removably mounted in the second pivot 43 of the hinge 40 as indicated previously, by penetration of the internal spikes 43 b into the recessed end areas 42 b of the intermediate rotation rod 42. In this position, the curved blade 43 f bears permanently against the external surface of the curved portion 41 b of the first pivot 41 to act as a brake for the rotation of the lid 10 with respect to the base 20.

Finally, this assembly is connected, also in a removable manner, to the upper belt 31 of the spacer plate 30 by penetration of the outwardly prominent spikes 43 d into the orifices 31 d of the tabs 31 c.

It will also be noted that in this assembled position, the transverse flat main blade 43 e is sandwiched between the bottom 21 of the base 20 and the lower insert 32 of the spacer plate 30. The curved portion 41 b of the first pivot 41 is in turn integrated in the notches 24 and 35 respectively of the base 20 and the lower insert 32 of the spacer plate 30, while being positioned between the main transverse blade 31 e and the transverse blade 31 f.

When the user wishes to apply makeup, she detaches the mirror-bearing lid 10 from the base 20 by exerting a pulling force perpendicular to (the pivot pin for) the hinge 40 so that the lid 10, the first pivot 41 and the intermediate rotation rod 42 disengage from the second pivot 43. More specifically, the end recesses 42 b of the intermediate rotation rod 42 come out of the prominent spikes 43 b towards the outside of the second pivot 43.

The user thus has a detachable mirror that she can then hold with one hand, at an ideal distance from her face/mouth/eyes, while using the base 20 as a support for makeup products in order to put on makeup easily.

Once the makeup is finished, it is sufficient to “reclip” the mirror-bearing lid 10 on the base 20 by carrying out the reverse manipulation, that is to say to make the end recesses 42 b of the rod 42 penetrate again in the prominent spikes 43 b towards the outside of the second pivot 43.

It will be noted that the second pivot 43 is also removably mounted on the upper belt 31 of the spacer plate 30 by the interaction between the externally prominent spikes 43 d and the orifices 31 d. This second pivot 43 can therefore also be removed and replaced on the spacer plate 30 as desired.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate an alternative embodiment wherein the first pivot 41 of the lid extends longitudinally over a much greater distance than the version of FIGS. 1 to 11 , which similarly separates the pairs of lateral tabs 43 a and 43 c and widens the strip 43 f.

Moreover, this first pivot 41 has no intermediate rod 42. Thus, it is directly the curved portion 41 b which serves as the pivot pin for the hinge.

More specifically, this curved portion 41 b blade can be assembled/disassembled from the second pivot 43 by interaction between its ends 41 d and the prominent spikes 43 d towards the outside of the second pair of lateral tabs 43 c, in the same way as the intermediate rod 42 does. The assembly/disassembly of the mirror-bearing lid 10 is carried out in the same way as described above.

It should be understood that the detailed description of the object of the invention, given only by way of illustration, does not in any way constitute a limitation, the technical equivalents also being comprised in the scope of the present invention.

Thus, the intermediate rotation rod 42 can be formed integrally with the first pivot 41. 

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A housing for a cosmetic product in a form of a pallet, comprising: a base comprising a bottom and side walls delimiting at least one casing receiving the pallet of cosmetic product, a mirror-bearing lid articulated with respect to the base by a hinge around a pivot pin to provide at least a first open position to access to the pallet of cosmetic product and a second engagement position with the base to close the housing; a spacer plate connected to the base and comprising at least one through-opening passing through thickness thereof so as to form a compartment directly surrounding the pallet of cosmetic product to maintain the pallet of cosmetic product between the spacer plate and the bottom of the base; wherein hinge comprises a first upper pivot that is one with the mirror-bearing lid, a pivot pin for the hinge, and a second lower pivot connected to the spacer plate, the first upper and second lower pivots and the pivot pin being removably connectable to each other such that the mirror-bearing lid can be detached from the base and can be repositioned thereon as desired.
 15. The housing of claim 14, wherein the pallet contains a solid, waxy or pasty formula.
 16. The housing of claim 14, wherein the second lower pivot of the hinge is integral with the spacer plate.
 17. The housing of claim 14, wherein the second lower pivot of the hinge is completely independent of the spacer plate and can be detached therefrom.
 18. The housing of claim 14, wherein the pivot pin for the hinge is formed by a curved portion of the first upper pivot.
 19. The housing of claim 14, wherein the pivot pin for the hinge is formed by a rotation rod received in the second lower pivot.
 20. The housing of claim 19, wherein the rotation rod is integral with the first upper pivot of the hinge.
 21. The housing of claim 19, wherein the rotation rod is completely independent of the first upper pivot of the hinge.
 22. The housing of claim 14, wherein the protrusions cooperating with two recesses enable the removable connection between the pivot pin and the second lower pivot for the hinge.
 23. The housing of claim 22, wherein the second lower pivot of the hinge comprises a flat main transverse blade extending parallel to the pivot pin, the flat main transverse blade being provided with two internal lateral tabs erected normally and internally carrying the protrusions, which face each other to receive the two recesses, the two recesses being end recesses of a rotation rod or ends of a curved portion of the first upper pivot.
 24. The housing of claim 23, wherein the flat main transverse blade of the second lower pivot further comprises two external lateral tabs to connect with the spacer plate, the two external lateral tabs being erected parallel to the two internal lateral tabs and forming therewith two pairs of U-shaped elements disposed respectively at each of opposite longitudinal ends of the flat main transverse blade.
 25. The housing of claim 24, wherein the spacer plate comprises a rear strip comprising parallel tabs provided with recesses cooperating with protrusions projecting outwardly from the two external lateral tabs of the second lower pivot of the hinge.
 26. The housing of claim 22, wherein the flat main transverse blade of the second lower pivot of the hinge comprises an elastically deformable curved secondary strip permanently bearing on the first upper pivot of the hinge to form a brake on an articulation of the mirror-bearing lid on the base and maintain an angular position of the mirror-bearing lid with respect to the base.
 27. The housing of claim 14, wherein the spacer plate is articulated on the base by the second lower pivot. 